Devin Kekoa Yee Izon

 This page was created in honor of Devin's birth family and cultural roots. 

Meaning of Devin's Name

Many of you have asked how did we come up with Devin's name and what does it mean. 

Devin:  Darin and his brother, Daniel, were both given names that begin with the letter "D" to follow suit after their father, Damaso Junior.  To honor this "D" tradition, we chose the first name of Devin, which is Irish for "Descendant Of The Dark-haired One."  Devin's birth father's first name also begins with the letter "D."

Kekoa:  In honor of Darin and his family cultural roots of 3 generations in Hawai'i and to reflect the main culture that Devin will be raised in we wanted to give him a Hawaiian middle name; Kekoa means "the brave one."

Yee:  Devin's second middle name is Yee, which is Celina's maiden name and honors yet another culture that Devin will be raised in. 

Izon:  Izon is Darin's family surname, which may be a misspelling of "Ayson" from when his paternal grandfather immigrated from the Philippines to Hawai'i. 

Adoption

Historically, adoptions were "closed adoptions" where the birth family and adoptive family had no contact and knew none to little information about each other.  It was believed that if the birth family remained in contact with the child, the child would become confused and not understand the roles of his [adoptive] parents and birth parents and may feel compelled to "choose" one set of parents over the other. 

Today it is known that open adoptions, where the birth family and adoptive family remains in contact via letters, pictures, phone calls, and even visits, are beneficial to all parties of the adoption triad-the birth parents, [adoptive] parents, and the child.  Involvement with the birth parents can help the child better understand their adoption and can ease feelings of abandonment, rejection, grief, and insecurity.  Open adoption can instead promote a healthy, positive self-esteem and identity.   Open adoption helps the child understand and know they are loved and valued by the family who gave them life. 

In the best interest of Devin, we have embraced an open adoption where letters, pictures, phone calls, and one day visits will be exchanged with Devin's birth mom, Annise and half-brother, DeMarco. 

Oklahoma

Devin's birth mother was born and raised in Oklahoma, which remains her state of residence.  This was our first visit to Oklahoma and we hope to one day return to visit Devin's birth mother, Annise, and half-brother, DeMarco.

Devin was born on Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 10:04PM at St. Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Isn't this the perfect sign? 

 Oklahoma does not have any major league sport teams, but they do have a beautiful stadium for the Oklahoma Redsocks Minor League Baseball team.  There's also talk about the Seattle Sonics relocating to Oklahoma.  Hopefully one day we'll be able to return to Oklahoma to catch a game or two with Devin's birth family. 

Outside our hotel window, we have a wonderful view of Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World.  The first thing we thought of was Guong Guong (maternal Grandpa) and made a special trip to the store just for him!

Oklahoma was formed from Native American Indian Territory.  The story of the buffalo is an essential part of Native American history as many tribes were reliant on buffalos for food, clothing, medicine, shelter, and religious worship.  Unfortunately, U.S. government officials saw the removal of buffalos as a way to defeat Native American tribes who resisted land allotment and purposely killed buffalos to deny such tribes of their resources.  By 1880, only a few thousand buffalos remained.  Today, 8 Oklahoma tribes have conservation programs to help protect and restore the buffalo population.   

Trinidad

Devin's birth father is originally from Trinidad, which is the southernmost island in the Carribean and northeast of Venezuela.  Trinidad was originally settled by Amerindians of South America, but due to an intense history of colonization, slavery, and immigration Trinidad is ethnically composed of Indo-Trinidadians, Afro-Trinidadians, mixed race people, Euro-Trinidadians, Chinese, Lebanese, and Syrians.  Such diversity, Trinidad hosts various cultural and religious festivities and ceremonies throughout the year.  We hope one day we will be able to visit Trinidad and expose Devin to his cultural roots. 

Please let us know if you are able to find any children's books on Trinidad!